Tim Burton’s primates wrestled sneaky dinosaurs amid fierce competition in Japan last weekend while hot weather zapped the B.O. in most of Europe and “Bridget Jones’s Diary” wowed Australian auds.

“Planet of the Apes” commanded a hefty $5.2 million on 326 screens in Japan, including sneaks, hyped by promo visits to Tokyo by the helmer and thesps Estella Warren, Tim Roth and Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa.

Priming its Aug. 4 launch, “Jurassic Park III” rang up an impressive $970,000 in previews on 314 — 20% better than the first sneaks for “The Mummy Returns,” with a relatively even gender split of 60% male, 40% female.

Local animated fantasy “Spirited Away” reigned in Japan, whipping up an estimated $8 million in its second weekend on 336 (easing by a trifling 6% in the key cities), elevating its cume to approximately $34.2 million.

‘Pearl’ still shines

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Against those heavyweights, “Pearl Harbor” held remarkably well, raking in $2.8 million in its third weekend (slipping by 26%), propelling the territory cume to $24.3 million. Similarly, “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” dipped by a reasonable 29% in its fifth outing, amassing a stellar $55.2 million thus far.

The “Apes” remake devoured $611,000 on 25 in Hong Kong (Fox’s seventh-highest debut there) and $541,000 on 125 in Thailand (the distrib’s fourth best and the industry’s second biggest this year).

With $181 million in the till, “Pearl Harbor” stands as BVI’s third highest-earning live-action pic at this stage of its foreign rollout — three weekends — and is set to overtake “Air Force One” today. Ironic note: Japan will soon surpass Germany’s $25.5 million to rank as the WWII epic’s most lucrative overseas market.

The “Jurassic Park” romp fetched a solid but not spectacular $1.8 million on 312 prints in Spain, a terrif $966,000 in two days on 17 in Taipei, Taiwan, (national figure wasn’t available due to a weekend typhoon) and $723,000 on 83 in the Philippines (a record bow for the dino franchise and the 10th best ever there).

Not flying in U.K.

Joe Johnston’s adventure plunged by 58% in the U.K., exacerbated by the weather, collecting $12.7 million in 10 days, and by 40% in Mexico, scoring $7.1 million in the same frame. Estimated cume is $39 million after a weekend haul of about $11 million in 15 markets.

Warner/Roadshow’s “Swordfish” logged on in the U.K. at No. 2, beaming up $2.2 million on 310 — a tad higher than “Dr. Dolittle 2” in its entry on 410.

“Bridget Jones’s Diary” seduced $3.1 million on 221 in Australia, including sneaks, $252,000 on 21 in Singapore and $198,000 on 50 in Denmark, outpacing “Notting Hill” in each case. Cume topped $81 million from only 11 territories.

In its foreign debuts, “Scary Movie 2” conquered France with a hearty $3.6 million on 642, including previews, and Israel at $243,000 on 30.

‘Final’ shows spirit

After so-so runs in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and blah results in the Philippines, “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” redeemed itself with sturdy preems in Australia ($1.2 million on 203), South Korea ($624,000 on 62) and New Zealand ($165,000 on 32).

“Cats and Dogs” fetched a rousing $618,000 on 46 in South Korea’s key cities — in Seoul opening 19% ahead of “A Bug’s Life” — but fell sharply in Germany, where the 11-day tally is a mediocre $1.5 million.

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